The Breakfast Club

Breakfast. The meal that I found most difficult to adjust to on this yeast-free diet. My breakfasts before had always been healthy, so it’s not like I’m suddenly deprived of bagels or toast. But they did consist of yoghurt or milk on a daily basis. Greek yoghurt with muesli or Raisin Bran cereal with milk were my go-to morning meals. Without dairy I felt lost. In my first two weeks of yeast-free living I just stopped eating breakfast, unless I had the time to make an omelette, but that felt more like a brunch or even a lunch food rather than a quick breakfast.

Now, with the help of my celiac flatmate, I have two breakfast options that I actually really enjoy.

The first consists of Chia seeds. These are often added into smoothies as a thickener, but can also be eaten by themselves. They are so quick and easy to make – literally two tablespoons of Chia seeds mixed with four tablespoons of water or almond milk. The first time I had this the texture was so bizarre I wasn’t sure if I like it or not. But actually the more I have it, the more I like it, especially when topped with fruit. It also makes a handy snack – as you can pop the seeds in your bag and obviously water can be found anywhere.

The second option is my favourite, and is so delicious I am actually craving it right now. As a child I always disliked porridge, or ‘oatmeal’ as it’s called here in North America. I started to like it when travelling around the States in the summer of 2012, as Instant Oatmeal packets were in pretty much every hostel we came across. These were good – the Apple Cinnamon ones were my personal favourite – but are actually packed with sugar so are a no-go for the yeast free.

My flatmate started to make gluten-free oatmeal. All you need is a pack of gluten free oats, which are cheap and you get a lot for your money, and almond milk. Half a cup of oats for one cup of almond milk in a saucepan, and heat until cooked. The oats will expand and produce a delicious warming breakfast. Here in Canada it’s honestly the perfect breakfast.

The good thing with this breakfast is that you can change it up on a daily basis. The oats to almond milk ratio is always the same, but there are some great alternatives. Cut up half a banana and add it into the oatmeal towards the end of cooking and the banana becomes warm and slightly mushy. Cinnamon is another alternative, as are blueberries. My flatmate buys a big pack of frozen blueberries and then adds them into her oatmeal every day. Pretty much whatever you put in is always SO good. The best thing about oatmeal as well is that it keeps you completely full until lunch – so much so that my lunch is often smaller than usual because of it.

So now I rarely skip breakfast. Especially now that I’ve incorporated nearly all fruit back into my diet- even if I’m too rushed to make up a bowl of Chia seeds I can still grab an apple.